We’ve heard and seen a lot of crazy things during the radio survey period – break ups, benders and bird-themed hip hop tracks. But the pinnacle of the madness is here: Jono and Ben are sailing across Lake Taupo today, in a giant inflatable bouncy castle. We have sent our roaming reporter Don Rowe down … Read more
From France we fly to South Korea on this jowl-hating journey to combat the global pandemic of ageing and ugliness. Rachel is in Seoul, a city with the highest plastic surgery rate in the world. “You probably think I’m in Los Angeles – where I live – but I’m not”. The big takeaway here is … Read more
Alex and Duncan discuss the 100-joke-per-minute world of 30 Rock, and tell you why the the behind the scenes comedy is a must for any TV fan. Click here to watch 30 Rock on Lightbox today, thanks Meat Cat! This content, like everything we do at The Spinoff, is brought you thanks to the excellent … Read more
Our pick of the best new shows to hit Lightbox this September, including a slew of incredible nature documentaries and the final season of Lost Girl express from the US. Doctor Who Season Eight (out now) Doctor Who has been morphing, time travelling and regenerating since 1963, and shows no sign of slowing down. The … Read more
The first episode of our weekly pop music chat for umusic, shot and edited by The Spinoff’s own José Barbosa. It involves two pop rookies – The Spinoff’s Alex Casey and bFM’s Joseph Harper – listening to state-of-the-art pop music and having a chat about it. Simple. This week they discuss being drunk in a … Read more
Back Benches frequently and entirely correctly refers to itself as “the world’s only pub politics show”. It’s both true and somewhat redundant: what other country on our splendid planet would be fool crazy enough to allow it to exist? The show features sitting MPs, who set up in a pub adjacent to Parliament for an … Read more
Alex Casey chats to Ellen and Vince on the bFM breakfast show about the upcoming TV highlights for the week, including the launch of incredible lifestyle channel TLC (home of My Strange Addiction and Buying Naked).
The eighth season of Doctor Who has just arrived to Lightbox, and hitting us all square in the guts like a radiophonic workshop generated sine wave. ‘Tis a time for cheer, but is the verdict still out on Peter Capaldi’s portrayal of our favourite rogue Gallifreyian? José Barbosa examines Capaldi’s first season. Does the actor bring anything … Read more
With most of America still at the beach or sheltering from the heat inside frigid movie theatres, must-see TV is thin on the ground. As the networks prepare to launch their autumn schedules, US correspondent Catherine McGregor takes a look at some of the new shows on now. Public Morals The world needs yet another … Read more
Australian food television connoisseur and disappointment addict Eleanor Robertson journeys through cyber space and time to watch and recap TV3’s competitive cooking show, Masterchef New Zealand each week. Eating is a very sensual activity. At the best of times you’re putting something warm and moist into your mouth with a group of people you love, and collectively delighting … Read more
Season eight of Doctor Who has arrived on Lightbox today, with Peter Capaldi making his debut as The Doctor. José Barbosa power ranks the Doctors as they have regenerated through the ages. There was a time the way the BBC felt about Doctor Who was analogous to how most people feel about flatulence in enclosed spaces: … Read more
Sky has launched TLC today, unleashing a great flood of jaw-dropping lifestyle content that we have only ever heard mutterings of. From big names like Toddlers in Tiaras to niche content like Gypsy Sisters and Craft Wars, there’s no shortage of fake-sounding shows that have to be seen to be believed. I looked through the TLC back catalogue … Read more
For Monitor this week, Aaron Yap looks at the increasing flow of filmmakers across to television, and asks why New Zealand has resolutely avoided the trend. Remember that one seemingly event-worthy time when Quentin Tarantino, after establishing himself as a fully formed auteur with Pulp Fiction, took time out to direct an episode of E.R.? It … Read more
Alex Casey binge-watches The Ladies of NZ, the online webseries and offering to the radio survey gods by ZM. Sometimes I get really worried that, through some freak natural disaster, all of humanity is destroyed and all that remains of our existence are radio broadcasts from survey time, picked up by much more intelligent life … Read more
It’s summer holiday season in America, so Harvey Specter and Mike Ross are down in Florida working on their tans. They deserve a break – Specter’s hair will need a full de-grease, and Ross’ bicycle is due a service. The show is now five seasons old, and has progressed steadily from a gawky junior associate … Read more
Have you ever wondered what it would be like if New Zealand’s favourite soap-opera and New Zealand’s coolest comedy improv group combined forces? Weird thing to wonder. But it happened on Friday night, when I had the privilege of attending ‘Snortland Street’. It was the stuff of dreams: an evening with Ferndale Strangler-levels of suspense and … Read more
Tara Ward ranks her favourite moments from the past week of Ferndale hijinks. This week: Pixie gets a watery send-off, Drew gets passionate and everyone else gets sweaty. 1) Harry steps up to speak out Poor ol’ Harry is stuck between a rock and a hard place. Just like that time he fell in … Read more
Bringing together the TV moments of the week, including Graham Lowe’s debut as a political pundit, Rachel Hunter’s scouring the world for beauty products and the announcement of The Bachelorette Australia. Graham Lowe vs Jacinda Ardern Every damn day Paul “Mensa” Henry invites what they describe as “intellectually intriguing” New Zealanders onto his show to … Read more
Alex Casey interviews Australian grand illusionist Cosentino about learning the tricks of the trade, being on a talent show, and whether or not a dog can learn hypnosis. The first time I ever saw Cosentino on television, I was incredibly hungover on a Sunday afternoon. His Australian TV specials have a habit of creeping up … Read more
I need to know a lot of things in this life. What is for dinner? What is the deal with tides really? What is the point of anything? To complicate matters further, Rachel Hunter is here to pose another equally stress-inducing question – “how do we be healthy and stay looking young?” Ah shit, I … Read more
One of my fondest memories from primary school is sitting cross-legged at my friend Elizabeth’s house, shrieking our way through the then-terrifying Nightmare VHS board game. As both an avid horror movie fan, and a fan of being yelled at by rotting middle-aged actors dipped in fluorescent paint, this was my absolute favourite activity. I’ve since bought … Read more
Steve Braunias watches a bad carrot tear down the dreams of a construction worker as Masterchef NZ broiled and braised its way to a top 10. Bloodthirsty times at Masterchef NZ, with Monday night’s axing of Chris the builder. He came, he saw an oxtail, he didn’t really know what to do with it. His … Read more
Days of Our Lives is one of the longest running soap operas in TV history, following love triangles, relentless pregnancies and the odd demon. Alex Casey watched it for a week and tried to make sense of the soft focus world. MONDAY As always, the week opens with an exhaustive supercut to get us nice an … Read more
Australian food television connoisseur and disappointment addict Eleanor Robertson journeys through cyber space and time to watch and recap TV3’s competitive cooking show, Masterchef New Zealand each week. Episode Seven Team challenges on Masterchef are often where things fall apart. Contestants who’ve been plating up lacy tuiles, singing arias to their soufflés, constructing elaborate shrines in front of … Read more
Alex and Duncan chat about the Lightbox exclusive Better Call Saul, the Breaking Bad spinoff that couldn’t be further from its brutal televisual brother. Sound like a bit of you? Click here to watch Better Call Saul exclusively on Lightbox today This content, like everything we do at The Spinoff, is brought you thanks to … Read more
Wolf Hall is a BBC drama documenting the power dynamics of the court of Henry VIII. Unfortunately, while the 16th century had many things – the Church, fancy clothes etc – memes were not yet popular. We decided to fix that tragic historical accident by commissioning real life millennial Josh Davis to watch the brooding, … Read more
Alex Casey chats to Max and Vince on the bFM breakfast show about the upcoming TV highlights for the week, including Fear the Walking Dead, Rick and Morty and Rachel Hunter’s Tour of Beauty:
Two weeks since the last CDWMNZ scraps were scraped off our televisual plate, Alex Casey (big fan) and Joseph Moore (official Come Dine With Me NZ joke punch-up guy) mercilessly rank all 40 contestants from the first well-seasoned season. Story has officially made it to our screens, causing us to forget about Come Dine With Me NZ faster than a … Read more
Woah, busy alert! I see you, shuffling papers and scrolling through your calendar with a furrowed brow. Life is crazy, life is hectic. TV? Forget about it! What a nightmare! Lucky for you, we have had a scan of the week ahead and have got your five essential television appointments booked. Sit back, relax and let the … Read more